#TheTriggering

I'm liking this guy more and more. There is so much truth to his words, as it's difficult to talk about important issues without some asshole forcing their opinions without fact or reason and if you disagree, they attack you by any means necessary. As a feminist, the fight for equality is constantly under attack and being discredited by those who can no longer tell the difference between those who fight for equality and those who are extremists. This goes for other areas in our society, which is a shame as so much good can come from these call outs on the Internet, but as so often it is the minority who drown out all that good with their loud calls of hate.

While I get that part of #TheTriggering is to just post offensive stuff in defence of free speech, one must also remember that parts of free speech we are trying to protect. Apparently, society has now become 'pick and choose', meaning that anything that powerful groups don't want to hear, they simply shut down. There is a difference between hateful speech and actual facts, but it seems that everyone accept the first, yet tries to hide the latter. Powerful people trying to protect their power or perhaps 'My way or no one's way' would be the better example. As an individual with strong opinions I know that the truth is a powerful weapon, but this sort of silencing isn't limited to simply Government or Religious agendas, but all aspects of social and economic society as well. It's as if people don't want to hear that their little world is imperfect, that perhaps a few of their choices are wrong or even denying when the facts are in front of them that those facts exist. It might be a scary thought, but until we accept this worlds problems, we can't start the steps to fix them and the longer we delay it, the worse it will be when it finally backfires on us.

We can make the world a better place and I agree, to do this we just need to start pissing off the wrong people, because they're the wrong people.

Where did all the Skaven Slaves go?

So when I wrote the Mordheim post I was unsure if I had gotten Globadier right (honestly, I don't know where my army book is right now and I haven't played Skaven in a while), so I decided to check the GW store. Apparently, Clan Skryre has gone through with some re-branding, as the Globadiers are now Acolytes. The have a bunch of new scrolls to give you the 'new' rules for all these Skaven, but apart from the last Thanquol model, no other character has a name and those that had names now just 'count as' normal hero. Admittedly, Ikit Claw has been renamed simply 'Arch-Warlock', so I must now assume that he's dead too. In fact, it would appear that apart from Thanquol (in which the novel stated he was indeed killed by the Lord of End Times himself) may be the only named character alive.

But what's really got my goat (or rat's tail as it were), is that any reference to Skaven Slaves is gone. They only have a scroll for Clanrats and that's it. Now this confuses me greatly, as slaves have been a vital part of Skaven society. They are used as troops, food, trade and even experiments, yet now it seems to suggest that they no longer use them. Since when was being caring and nice a part of the Skaven way, cause I'm sure The Great Horned Rat hasn't become an all caring God yet. Last time I checked he was still trying to steal Slaanesh's throne since the Elves ran off with slither tongue. Unfortunately, I'm unwilling to pay the $56 for a book with a few pages of fluff and a page of Skryre based rules, nor will I tolerate the insult of Clan Pestilens getting their own book. I mean, what gives. You want Plauge monks? Then stick them with Nurgle. Clan Skryre's Techno-Sorcery is far different to what the rest of Chaos has to offer and they deserve their own book.

...and Slaves...


...and new weapons...


...and constructs...


...and something insanely bazaar....

Deathwatch Overkill

So apparently Games-Workshop has decided to release another boardgame: Deathwatch Overkill.

So what do I think of it? At $280AU, it seems to me as an expensive risk, but unlike other GW products, this one will pay off for them. Why? Well, after denying players Deathwatch kill-teams for so long and the silence surrounding Genestealer Cults, fans will pay just to have something they have waited years for.

Don't get me wrong, I love the lore for both of these sides, but I doubt this box has anything to do with making an exciting game. At least GW had the decency to release rules for these guys, meaning that they can be used in 40K games (to a certain extent anyway), which was a smart move. The miniatures look good too, keeping well to the lore in that visual sense.

As much as I love the miniatures, I doubt I'll get it. I've waited a long time, but I simply can't afford $280. That's just too much to ask for. If they show up cheap enough on Ebay I might grab a few (both sides could work well with my Inquisition warbands), but this is just another product out of my reach.

Aionus - Special Edition

Been looking foward to getting my hands on this and now it's finally arrived. Glad that I don't have to cut, clean or glue parts of this together (it gets kind of annoying), though I admit I still am not sure what to do about the base. Work in progress I guess.

As for the character, he's a 12 Soulstone model, an Outcast henchmen who is also a mercenary. He has good defence and wounds stats, but has little in the way of defences (like armor), though he does take half damage from CA attack actions. His real focus is on dishing out Slow and can grant nearby minions/enforcers/henchmen the Fast condition by discarding a card that is higher then their Soulstone cost. It also just occured to me that the Viktoria of Blood has a 0 Soulstone cost, so any card could be discarded to give her Fast.

He only really has one damaging attack and it's melee (though he does get bonus damage if they have Fast/Slow condition), though it ignors armor and can even target buried models. His other focus is on scheme markers as triggers can replace enemy ones with his own and his tactical actions revolve around moving them.

Overall, I like him. Can't wait to start painting him. Now what to do about his base.....

Short Reviews: Mordheim - City of the Damned (PC)

So first I must admit, I've never played the table top game before, but I have read the rules and it seemed like it would have been fun. Create a Warband, complete missions to earn rewards, have characters gain great skills, but also suffer negative effects from battles. For me, this sounded like fun and it seems that this game has all that. A character turn-based game with four factions so far including my beloved Skaven, but also Human Mercenaries (Empire basically), Sisters of Sigmar and Cult of the Possessed (Chaos).

I did play the Early Access version of the game and like most things in early access, it went from good, to bad, to good etc. Trying to create game balance isn't easy and it takes time. While I haven't played multiplayer since it officially released as a complete game, it was fun, though I imagine it's gotten a lot harder as players have characters with different gear and skill options, probably making it a bit harder to balance.

Some of the features I do like from the start of it is the Veteran system. In this, you complete objectives over time to earn XP, but unlike leveling a warband, this is account base. As such, you can level it up further even if the warband you were playing as had disbanded and you started a new one. The more it levels, the more gold you start off with when you create a new warband. As such, I do find myself constantly looking back at it's list to see if there are any ones I can focus on to help level it up.

Another one is the Smuggler's Den. It is here that you can send your collected Wyrdstone to various factions where you earn reputation and gold. Reaching a certain amount of reputation gains you a level rank with them and unlocking each rank grants your warband a bonus. It is here that you will also encounter  certain challenge and the first faction (since I'm Skaven it's the Murderlord of Clan Eshin) will sometimes demand a certain weight of Wyrdstone to be sent to them and gives you a time limit to complete it. This may not seem bad at first, but if your leader gets taken out and needs time to recover, then you can end up wasting valuable time waiting for him to recover. As such, ranking up that one early for the extra day can be quite useful.

Much like the table top game, there is a certain element of risk and chance involved. Do you jump into a mission with random set-up or do you want to do it yourself (though there are a few missions where you don't get that choice)? Do you focus on Dodge or Parry as your defence skills? Do you risk casting that spell knowing there is a possibility that the backlash may kill the caster? It may sound complicated, but it isn't that bad. You'll find that after a few games you do start to get the hang of your crew and learn to use them better. So far my problems revolve around simply having bad luck at times, but then I've only ever fired one warrior due to them being too much of a risk for my warband and have yet to actually have someone die from their injuries.

It's hard to say how to recommend this game, as unless your a fan of Mordheim or a fan of the various factions in the game, some might find it not to their taste. It's dark and Gothic in it's style, the gameplay is in a turn base-style and it's story isn't exactly Shakespeare. That said, for someone like me, it gives me a decent enough challenge and Skaven fun that I can enjoy myself for hours.

Oh yes, they have also started adding paid DLC characters to the game, with a Clan Skryre Poisoned Wind Globadier for the Skaven. I've had a blast using these guys.



Finally, a chance to speak-squeak. Though this take place long ago, Mordheim filled with much-much glory for Skavendom. Still, why Eshin have own Sorcerers.....hmmmm, me sense treachery afoot.
~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff

Outrage to the Extreme

Well said Sir, well said.

Deponia Doomsday

So here's something that completely slipped under my radar. Despite the Deponia trilogy wrapping up the story of Rufus and Deponia, turns out that there is now a forth game. Just recently been release, this game is clearly made for the fans who were not happy with the trilogies ending. Personally, I was hoping to see Rufus in more spin-offs, but a sequel to a trilogy was not what I was expecting.

So far I'm into the whole time traveling part, with the main Rufus being the one prior to the Deponia trilogy having the visions of his future self, but already screwing things up. Even the introduction of the game spells out that people didn't like the ending and that this is basically the chance to have a better one or perhaps there isn't one? It this kind of attitude that I like from this series. They even through in a more Sci-Fi type theme song, showing just how far the madness is spreading.

The game still has it's awkward moments, but that's to be expected. I'll play through it some more (or even finish it) before I can give a full opinion on it.